The present invention relates to laundry detergent compositions comprising one or more hydrophobically modified polyamines which provide enhanced lipid soil removal benefits, inter alia, body soil removal. The present invention further relates to nil surfactant laundry detergent compositions wherein aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified polyamines are the foundation for laundry detergent compositions. The present invention also relates to methods for removing body soil from fabric, inter alia, the collars of wearing apparel.
Fabric, especially clothing, can become soiled with a variety of foreign substances ranging from hydrophobic stains (grease, oil) to hydrophilic stains (clay). The level of cleaning necessary to remove foreign substances depends to a large degree upon the amount of stain which is present and to the degree and manner in which the foreign substance has contacted the fabric fibers. Grass stains usually involve direct abrasive contact with vegetative matter thereby producing highly penetrating stains. Human body oils and perspiration are continually produced and deposited onto fabric while clothing is being worn, especially at the collar, cuffs, and underarm areas. Body oils become embedded into the fabric not only by absorption or by wicking of the materials themselves into the fiber, but also by the mechanical action of the body against the fabric.
In many cases a surfactant per se is not all that is necessary to remove unwanted hydrophobic soils and stains. In the case of human body oils and other hydrophobic stains on collars, cuffs and other contact areas, perspiration and body oil stains are not fully removed by washing alone. Even hand scrubbing of collars does not ameliorate the dingy appearance of white cotton-comprising fabric. For hydrophobic soils, dispersants are ineffective because they act on soils which are removed and not on those which are embedded throughout the fabric surface fibers. Formulators have used soil release polymers to attenuate the spreading out and absorption of greasy, oily material onto synthetic fabric, however, cellulosic fiber still presents the laundry formulator with the problem of dingy appearance due to human body oils and perspiration stains.
There is a long felt need in the art for laundry detergent compositions which can effectively solublize greasy, oily materials from the surface fibers of fabric, and once solublized, said oily materials can then be eliminated by the action of surfactants. There is also a long felt need for a cleaning system which effectively removes lipid type stains which have been worn into fabric by mechanical action of skin against fabric, for example, at shirt collars and cuffs.
It has now been surprisingly discovered that laundry detergent compositions comprising certain quaternized polyamines have enhanced greasy soil removal benefits. The polyamines of the present invention are quaternized alkyleneoxylated, preferably ethyleneoxylated, polyamines having hydrophobic backbone spacers between the backbone nitrogen atoms. Surprisingly, Applicants discovered that the degree of quaternization and choice of a hydrophobic quaternizing agent can be manipulated to provide enhanced removal of greasy, oily stains from clothing either in the presence of detersive surfactants or in the absence of surfactants. The laundry detergent compositions of the present invention are especially effective in removing xe2x80x9cground-in oily stainsxe2x80x9d, inter alia, perspiration underarm stains, body oils at the collar and cuffs of shirts. When used together with a suitable surfactant system, the hydrophobically modified polyamines of the present invention provides for removal of stains which were once believed ruinous to fabric, especially cellulose comprising fabric.
The first aspect of the present invention relates to a hydrophobically modified polyamine having the formula: 
wherein R is C6-C12 linear or branched alkylene, and mixtures thereof; R1 is an alkyleneoxy unit having the formula:
xe2x80x94(R2O)xxe2x80x94R3
wherein R2 is C2-C4 linear or branched alkylene, and mixtures thereof; R3 is hydrogen, benzyl, and mixtures thereof; x is from about 15 to about 30; at least one Q moiety is a hydrophobic quaternizing unit selected from the group consisting of C8-C30 substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl, C6-C30 substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C7-C30 substituted or unsubstituted alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof, and the remaining Q moieties are selected from the group consisting of lone pairs of electrons on the unreacted nitrogens, hydrogen, C1-C30 substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl, C3-C30 substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C7-C30 substituted or unsubstituted alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof; X is an anion present in sufficient amount to provide electronic neutrality; n is from 0 to 3.
The present invention further relates to laundry detergent compositions comprising:
A) from about 0.01%, preferably from about 0.1%, more preferably from about 1%, most preferably from about 3% to about 50%, preferably to about 20%, more preferably to about 10%, most preferably to about 7% by weight, of a hydrophobically modified polyamine having the formula: 
wherein R is C6-C20 linear or branched alkylene, and mixtures thereof; R1 is an alkyleneoxy unit having the formula:
xe2x80x94(R2O)xxe2x80x94R3
wherein R2 is C2-C4 linear or branched alkylene, and mixtures thereof; R3 is hydrogen, C1-C22 alkyl, C7-C22 alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof; x is from about 15 to about 30; at least one Q moiety is a hydrophobic quaternizing unit selected from the group consisting of C8-C30 substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl, C6-C30 substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C7-C30 substituted or unsubstituted alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof, and the remaining Q moieties are selected from the group consisting of lone pairs of electrons on the unreacted nitrogens, hydrogen, C1-C30 substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl, C3-C30 substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C7-C30 substituted or unsubstituted alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof; X is an anion present in sufficient amount to provide electronic neutrality; n is from 0 to 3;
B) from about 0.01% by weight, of a surfactant system comprising one or more surfactants selected from:
i) from 0% to 100% by weight, of one or more anionic surfactants;
ii) from 0% to 100% by weight, of one or more nonionic surfactants;
iii) optionally from 0.1% to about 80% by weight, of one or more cationic surfactants;
iv) optionally from 0.1% to about 80% by weight, of one or more zwitterionic surfactants;
v) optionally from 0.1% to about 80% by weight, of one or more ampholytic surfactants; or
vi) mixtures thereof;
C) the balance carriers and adjunct ingredients.
The present invention further relates to a nil surfactant laundry or cleaning composition comprising:
a) from about 0.01%, preferably from about 0.1%, more preferably from about 1%, most preferably from about 3% to about 50%, preferably to about 20%, more preferably to about 10%, most preferably to about 7% by weight, of a hydrophobically modified polyamine having the formula: 
wherein R is C6-C20 linear or branched alkylene, and mixtures thereof; R1 is an alkyleneoxy unit having the formula:
xe2x80x94(R2O)xxe2x80x94R3
wherein R2 is C2-C4 linear or branched alkylene, and mixtures thereof; R3 is hydrogen, C1-C22 alkyl, C7-C22 alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof; x is from about 15 to about 30; at least one Q moiety is a hydrophobic quaternizing unit selected from the group consisting of C8-C30 substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl, C6-C30 substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C7-C30 substituted or unsubstituted alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof, and the remaining Q moieties are selected from the group consisting of lone pairs of electrons on the unreacted nitrogens, hydrogen, C1-C30 substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl, C3-C30 substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, C7-C30 substituted or unsubstituted alkylenearyl, and mixtures thereof; X is an anion present in sufficient amount to provide electronic neutrality; n is from 0 to 3; and
b) the balance carriers and adjunct ingredients.
The present invention also relates to a method for cleaning fabric, said method comprising the step of contacting an article of manufacture comprising fabric, preferably clothing, with an aqueous solution of a laundry detergent composition comprising a hydrophobically modified polyamine of the present invention.
These and other objects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are by weight, unless otherwise specified. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius (xc2x0 C.) unless otherwise specified. All documents cited are in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference.